Once upon a time, blogging was little more than a hobby for budding writers who used punchy prose to connect to audiences interested in particular topics.
Fast-forward to 2023 and it’s now a well-respected and hugely popular content marketing technique which can seriously boost your online business and lead generation.
Business blogs, as part of an online marketing strategy, have seen numerous success stories; in fact, according to the Hubspot blog, business owners that use blogs in their content marketing strategy generate 65% more leads than those who don’t.
However, the digital world is now so saturated with specialist content from business blogs that customers are spoiled for choice – so you’ll need to make sure your blog pops off the page if you want to differentiate your business from the competition.
But when your brand is super niche or your industry is ruthlessly competitive, how do you continually create business blogs that are engaging, exciting and memorable for consumers?
From small business owners to the in house marketing teams at large companies, these 10 tips can help to make your business blog less boring and much more captivating and customer-centric.
1. Your business blog should tell your brand story
Brand storytelling involves using narrative structure to connect your brand to customers – for example, by aligning your business offering with the values you share with your customers.
For example, rather than writing a blog which promotes your products and services in an advertorial manner, you can include elements like a protagonist and antagonist, desire, journey, crisis, climax and resolution to add the blockbuster effect that engages and entertains customers.
Business blogs that adopt storytelling techniques are more accessible and empathic – this help foster deep customer connection and builds loyal and trusting relationships.
And since storytelling also injects your brand with personality, it’s therefore a fantastic way to differentiate yourself from bland competitors with customised content that hooks customers from the off.
2. Your business blog should be audience-focused
When it comes to blog writing, satisfying your audience is your main focus. If your blog is all about you and your own business it can come across as smug and self-indulgent, meaning your readers won’t stick around.
It’s therefore essential that your readers and their needs are at the heart of your content – using personal pronouns such as ‘you’ and ‘yours’ is a simple fix which allows you to speak directly to them and proves that your offering is dedicated to making their lives easier.
Make it easier for your readers to find you
Another way to connect to your audience and maximise your blog’s impact is to share it on social media channels. According to an industry expert Jeff Bullas, blog posts shared on Twitter and Facebook generate up to 160% more blog views.
Social sharing will make your blog audience more engaged because they will be able to share, comment and like your posts in a few short clicks while they’re on the move. And by responding to customer comments, you can use your business blogs to build valuable customer conversations and relationships.
Combining a thorough social media strategy with an email marketing plan will help you get your blog post in front of your readers, driving traffic to your website.
3. Your business blog content should be unique
In the digital world there’s plenty of competition in pretty much every industry. So if you want your business blog to be engaging and attract high levels of traffic, you need to produce unique content which makes you stand out from the crowd and shares your own experiences.
One way to do so is to analyse your competitors’ strategy and assess which aspects of their blog content are working well, and which ones are not. This will allow you to learn from their successes and avoid their failures, while putting your own trademark spin on topics that have been tried and tested.
But in addition to this, you should try and uncover gaps in your competitors’ business blog content to identify topics that are totally original and authentic. This unlocks the door to creating content that is engaging and fresh, and which increases your authority and positions you as an industry leader with more knowledge than your rivals.
4. Your online business blog should be clear and concise
Not all of your business blog readers will be industry experts, so don’t bamboozle them with over-complicated technical jargon.
You’ll find it easier to attract new readers and keep your current audience engaged with your business blog if you produce content that’s clear and concise.
Writing that’s simple and straightforward can still be stylish, it makes technical products more relatable and also guides customers towards conversions like newsletter sign-ups and purchases.
There are various ways to make your writing sharp and snappy, but using everyday language to cut through jargon is one top tip, and an interesting infographic or explainer video can work wonders for customers who want to cut to the chase with visuals instead of words.
If you’re struggling to simplify your writing to make your blog more successful, using the Hemingway App can help.
5. Your business blog should have a catchy headline
Your business blog headline plays a starring role in making your blog less boring. It’s the first thing that grabs their attention and research has found that 80% of visitors will read your headline, while only 20% will make it until the end. This means your business blog headline needs to be super catchy.
Like the main body text, your headline should be clear, concise and relevant – and if it affords you the opportunity to flex your writing muscles with a pithy pun related to your product offering, all the better.
Aim to make your headline data-driven as well as entertaining and eye-catching – keyword research tools like AnswerThePublic can help you create blog titles based on popular recent search phrases and topics.
6. Your business blog should solve your readers’ problems
The goal of any worthwhile business is to heal consumers’ pain points and enhance their lives. So your business blog should provide solutions to their problems and provide useful information – follow this formula and it’ll quickly become required reading for readers within your niche.
If you’re not sure what problems are most pressing for your target audience, some simple search engine research can help. For example, you can be guided by which topics already have Google featured snippets to provide your own answer to a pressing question that’s proved popular in your sector, and/or you can address related questions by scanning the ‘people also ask’ results.
Alternatively, you can aim for a high Google ranking by publishing a ground-breaking blog on small business trends or practical advice which your competitors haven’t addressed yet – either way, you’ll be enhancing your web presence and driving high-intent traffic to your website.
By offering practical business advice, industry insights, how to guides, and helpful tips, you’ll help to keep readers engaged and turn them into potential customers that will generate new business.
7. Your business blog should contain visual content
You’ve probably heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. And this is one age-old adage that’s true – incorporating visual content such as pictures, videos and gifs into your business blog will provide your audience with some much-needed variety and help break up those chunks of meaty text into more manageable sections.
In fact, according to Search Engine Journal, written content which includes visual elements receives up to 94% more views.
You can include high quality images of your products or services to bring your blog to life, or even better, make an excellent explainer video which summarises its key points in a format that’s fantastically shareable on social media.
And don’t forget that infographics are still one of the most effective visual content formats because they combine the written word with visual elements and allow you to pack big ideas into small spaces. This helps ensure that users get to the root of what you’re saying and makes it as persuasive as possible.
8. Your business blog should showcase your brand personality
Brand personality is important because it impacts how customers perceive your business and establishes lasting connections. When you have a strong brand personality, it gives your readers something more tangible to relate to.
One way to create a strong brand personality is through the creation of a brand voice. Your brand voice should be distinctive and immediately recognisable to your readers. This will help them form a closer connection with both your business and your blog content, because it gives them something familiar and comforting to engage with.
Additionally, another way to make your blog content lively and engaging to consumers is to base it around your brand values. Brand values are a set of guiding principles that shape your business activities.
And in an environment when consumers increasingly make ethical purchasing decisions, aligning you blog content with your values enhances your authenticity and encourages consumers to trust you and get on board with your brand mission.
9. Your business blog can be part of a series
Creating a blog series is an effective way to capture the attention of readers because it gives them something long-term to look forward to. It also provides you with a clear theme to follow, which makes developing each instalment easier.
For example, one simple yet effective series might include successive blogs where each one examines one of your key service areas.
Writing your blogs as part of a series also allows you to break down larger more complex ideas into more manageable bitesize chunks so that they’re easier for your audience to understand. This is also a great way to demonstrate your expertise on a particular topic or issue and can help establish your reputation as an expert.
Once you feel that you’ve exhausted the content for a particular series, you can rest that topic for a while, launch another series and return to it later once there are sufficient new developments to provide your opinion on – rotating your blog content regularly will keep it feeling fresh and engaging.
10. Your business blog should cover diverse topics
While it’s important that a business blog informs your readers and solve their trickiest problems, it should also entertain them by including topics that perhaps aren’t directly related to products and services, but are diverse and dynamic, nonetheless.
For example, writing about trending topics that are of interest to your audience is an awesome way to add a bit of colour to your business blog, whilst proving that you’re a brand which puts its audience first and isn’t concerned solely about sales.
Further, it’s also a fabulous opportunity to demonstrate a wider range of expertise, which could help you attract a more diverse range of readers, extend your customer base and expand your enterprise.
Local topics can be brilliant for generating blog topics – for example, if there’s a music festival happening in the town where your business is based, you could write a promo blog which intertwines music with your own product offering. This will help establish you as a community minded brand by sharing exciting experiences with customers.
Final thoughts on making your business blog less boring
The best business blogs tackle a diverse range of subjects, contain a range of content elements and are written first and foremost with the audience in mind – this superb strategy helps you sustain success through building a loyal following.
As a business owner, you’ll be best placed to create a blog post that gives your readers valuable insights and business solutions that can offer practical information. Whether you write business and marketing blogs which offer productivity hacks advice for future successful entrepreneurs, or a detailed posts about current events and hacks for self improvement, your blog could be a great resource for your readers.
So, if you feel like your business blog currently lacks a little je ne sais quoi, our 10 top tips will transform it into a terrific marketing tool that boosts customer experience.
Creating a blog can be a great way for small businesses drive traffic and encourage business growth, however it should be part of an overall online marketing strategy.
Need some help producing first-class business blogs and all of your other digital marketing requirements? Contact us today for a chat.
